Contact-disk for coin-controlled apparatus.



- Patentedfreb. 1.1902.

C. A. YALE.

CONTACT DISK-'FOR G01N*(ONTIOLLED APPARATUS.

(Application med Apr.' 1s. 1901.)

TNS owns Enns oo., Pviom-UTHO.. WAS

" NrrnA STATES.

ATENT Enron.

CHARLES ALBERT YALE, `OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR TO YALE WONDER CLOCK COMPANY, OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT, A CORPORA- TION OF VERMONT.

CONTACT-DISK Foa COIN-ooNTRoLLED APPARATUS.

mEECIFGAEliON forming part of Letters Patent No. 692,966, dated February 1 1, 1902.

Application iiled April 18, 1901. Serial No. 56,448. (No model() To all whom, t may concern:

Beit known that I, OHARLEs ALBERT YALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Burlington, inA the county of Chittenden and 5 State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Contact-Disks for Coin-Controlled Apparatus; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as Io will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of thisspeciication.

I5 My present invention relates to contactdisks designed for use in electrically-operated coincontrolled advertising and vendin g apparatus'of the type illustratedin patent granted t me under date of Marche, 1901,

zo and numbered 669,433.4 In thepatentreferred to a hand or pointer is given aninitial impetus to move around a `numbered dial, and the pointer-shaft carries a spring-brush which moves around in contact with a series of pins z secured near the periphery of an insulated disk. Whenthe hand or pointer comes to a stop, the spring-brush rests upon 4one of the series of pins and establishes an electric circuit including within it an electric light and 3o other mechanisms to be operated.

It is the object of my present invention to improve the construction of the disk to which the contact-pins are secured. The large number of pins required for my purpose in a 3 5 comparatively, small disk makesA the production of such a structure expensive owing to the accuracy required in properly locating and securing the pins to the disk and connecting them up in groups to wires 'leading to the 4c mechanisms to be operated. By aseries of experiments I have discovered that I may accomplish the purpose for which the disk is.

used in the patent by a much simpler and more eflicient device and one which Vcan be produced at a greatly-reduced cost.

In accordance with my invention about to' be described I dispense with the pins and utilize in their place a series of segmental contact-plates, each plate representing a group 5ol of the pins disclosed by the patent, and each plate being connected up to a single Wire leading to thelight or mechanism to be operated.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a contact-disk made in accordance with my present invention andfshowing a shaft passing through the center of the disk and carrying a spring-brush designed to contact with the segmental plates secured to the disk. Fig. 2is a rear elevation of the disk, 6o

. cured in place in the groove 2 by headed pins or tacks 4, said pins being driven through the disk 1 from the back and secured to the 75 plates 3 by solder or otherwise, as at 5. One

of the wires 6 is connected to each pin or tack 4t by winding the wire around the head of the pinbefore it is driven home in the disk. It will be understood that the pins or tacks are 8o electrical conductors, and that when a circuit Vis established through Vany one of them the current passes through the pins to the plate 3, to which it is secured.

^ A shaft 7 passes through the center of the 85 disk l, anda spring-brush Sis secured to said shaft, preferably by a thumb-screw 9. The outer or free "end of the spring-brush S is always in contact Vwith one of the plates 3. When the shaft 7 -is given an initial impetus 9o or is spun by suitable mechanism, the brush 8 sweeps around in contact with the plates 3 until the shaft 7 comes to a stop, and a circuit is then established through the shaft 7 to brush 8, through said brush tol one of the plates3, and through the plate and its pin 4 to wire 6 to mechanism `to ,be operated. The plates 3 are of different vlengths and areearranged around the disk 1 in a manner to distribute the long and short segments in prer determined positions in the circle, in order that when the brush 8 is swept around in contact with the plates 3 by an initial impetus given to the shaft 7 the chances of said brush stopping upon one of the longer plates 8 is greatly in excess of the chances that said brush will come to a stop on any one of the smaller plates. In fact, the circle represented by the plates 3 is so divided up and proportioned by plates of different lengths in series as will determine the percentage of chance in favor of the longer plates as against the shorter ones. This percentage may, however, be changed by a di'lerent system of wiring or by a switch. In the example of my invention herein shown there are seven groups of wires 6, connected to the plates 3 and led 'to seven binding-posts 9 at the back of disk 1. From these binding-posts the insulated Wires are passed through a screw eye or guide lO to the various lights or mechanisms t0 be operated.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that a disk having a series of segmental or curved contact-plates separated from each other by a slight space can be made and assembled in a comparatively short time, while the wiring Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. A contact-disk, comprising a non-conducting disk, a series of curved contact-plates each secured t0 the face of said disk by a metal 3 pin or tack driven from th'e back of the disk and secured to the contact-plate, substantially as described.

2. A contact-disk, comprising a non-conducting disk, a series of curved contact-plates 4 each secured to the face ot' said disk by a metal pin or tack driven from the back of said disk at the side ot the contact-plate, and secured thereto by solder.

3. A contact-plate, comprising a non-con- 4 ducting disk, a series of contact-plates seated in a groove near the periphery of said disk and each plate scoured in place by a metal tack or pin driven from the back ot the disk and soldered to the contact-plate, and having 5A 

